Ruffle Scarfs

This weekend I took a break from gardening and worked on a few of my yarn projects.  I had purchased a few different yarns that are mainly used to knit ruffle scarfs, which my Mom has been wanting me to make for awhile now.  So I sat down and found my instructions and in a day I had two completed ruffle scarfs and a third in the works.  With the right instructions (and pictures) these ruffle scarfs are fairly easy to whip up and would make great gifts this holiday season.  HERE are the instructions that I found the most useful with good pictures for those of us that are visual learners and there is even a video!  Both scarfs turned out great and now I have a basket full of finished projects that I need to weave in ends and block.  My next ruffle scarf is with some specialty yarn from my Local Yarn shop, so I will share that when it's completed.

Patons Pirouette (left) and Red Heart Boutique Sashay (right)

If you don't know how to knit, you could try this crochet ruffle scarf with Lion Brand's Homespun yarn.  The result is not quite the same since the yarn, itself, is entirely different.  However, I still love the look of the ruffle scarf, which can be made shorter or longer (the one below is longer).

Lion Brand Homespun: Crochet Ruffle Scarf

On the Hook & Needle Project Update

Usually I only have one or two projects each for crochet and knitting in-the-works, but since I had taken a handful of classes in July at Anna's Yarn Shoppe, I have more than that.  Plus I started a few fall projects that I shared this week on the blog HERE.

Crochet: Frost Scarf

If you do not have the link for the pattern, check out my previous post HERE.  I worked several weeks on this project, only a few hours a day and I'm not quite done.  After awhile, I became bored with repeating the same row over and over again.  It really is an easy pattern if you know basic crochet stitches.  I did find that I would stitch looser or tighter at different times when I would work on this.  Though I think I can get away with this minor "problem" as the bottom is wider then the middle and I will be blocking it in the end.  I just have to be sure to make the bottom on the other side of the scarf wider then the middle.  This will give it a different effect than the pattern intended, but it also makes my scarf more unique - it is handmade after-all.

Knit: Winter Berries Wrap/Scarf

I really love the look of this pattern and the mock cabling.  You can read my previous post HERE.  Once I learned the new stitches in this pattern it was not a difficult pattern.  I found that the way it was written (having to go back and forth to look at the decorative pattern and the main pattern) made it more difficult than actually knitting it.  I must have knit the first 10-15 rows about 5 times!  By the time I started over a 6th time, I was able to continue in the pattern and I did manage to rip out my mistakes.  However, I usually had to rip out 4 rows to finally be able to start again in the pattern.  Not sure why I ended up having to rip out more than a row to fix a mistake in the previous row, but it was good practice in fixing my mistakes.  Now I am finishing the last part of the pattern, which is not descriptive enough for me (as a beginner knitter) to make sure I am making the correct decreases in the pattern.  Once I can figure this out, I have the final edging and it will be complete, before blocking.

You can see the mock cabling starting to develop

Crochet Wand for Girls

A cousin's daughter recently turned 4 and I decided to make a little homemade gift for her.  I was really inspired and loved the Wand from Tangled Happy.  Here's the link to the crochet pattern.

The pattern is simple and easy if you know the basics of crochet.  I modified the pattern a bit since my stick was more narrow than the one she used.  This is a great pattern and I love the projects she shares on her blog.

With pink/glitter yarn I made the star then added the stick and ribbons.

My cousin's daughter loved her little princess/fairy wand.  To go with it I had a little princess-castle bag and crochet bracelet.